TRIPOLI – Muammar Gaddafi’s forces battled rebels on several fronts in Libya on Friday and unrest erupted in the capital when gunmen fired to break up crowds shouting “Gaddafi is the enemy of God” while 17 protesters were killed in Benghazi.
Vowing “victory or death”, eastern-based rebels pressed home a westwards push with an attack on the oil town of Ras Lanuf, which lies on a strategic coastal road, claiming to have taken its airport. In the west, security forces loyal to Gaddafi recaptured parts of Zawiyah, and residents said at least 30 civilians had been killed, including the rebel commander.
The rebellion in Zawiyah – the closest rebel-held territory to the capital and the site of another oil refinery – has been an embarrassment to the authorities who are trying to show they control at least the west of the country. Rebels have already seized control of eastern regions of the country, around the city of Benghazi.
The rebels earlier told Reuters they were open to talks only about Gaddafi’s exile or resignation, following attacks on civilians that have provoked international condemnation, arms and economic sanctions and a war crimes probe. In the east, rebels were attacking a military base on the outskirts of Ras Lanuf, an oil port on the Mediterranean, which has a refinery, pipelines and a terminal.
An oil facility at Zueitina, south of the Libyan rebel-held city of Benghazi, has been damaged and is on fire, Al Jazeera said, showing a video of black smoke rising from an oil plant. Meanwhile, Interpol issued a global alert against Gaddafi and 15 others, including members of his family and close associates, the global police organisation said.
